1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stands used for musical instruments such as drum kits, and particularly to stands of hi-hat cymbals.
This application is based on Patent Application No. Hei 11-242881 filed in Japan, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Musical instruments such as drum kits consisting of sets of drums and cymbals use various types of stands such as stands of hi-hat cymbals (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9chi-hat standsxe2x80x9d). Herein, the hi-hat stand supports hi-hat cymbals, i.e., a pair of cymbals being arranged in a face-to-face manner.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a hi-hat stand which is conventionally used for performance of cymbals. A hi-hat stand 1 is constructed by a foldable tripod (or stand leg unit) 2 including three legs, a xe2x80x9chollowxe2x80x9d stand member 3, an operation rod 4, a spring device 5 and a pedal device 6. The stand member 3 is fixed and supported by the stand leg unit 2, and the operation rod 4 penetrates through a hollow internal space of the stand member 3 to freely move up and down. The spring device 5 normally presses the operation rod 4 upwardly. The pedal device 6 is attached to a lower portion of the stand member 3. In addition, a lower fixed cymbal 7 is fixed to an upper portion of the stand member 3, while an upper moving cymbal 8 is attached to an upper portion of the operation rod 4. Thus, the lower fixed cymbal 7 and the upper moving cymbal 8 are arranged opposite to each other in a face-to-face manner.
The stand leg unit 2 includes three legs 9a, 9b, 9c, which are arranged in a triangular manner to encompass the stand member 3 with equal intervals of distance and angle therebetween. In addition, the stand leg unit 2 also includes a first metal fitting 10, three stays 11a, 11b, 11c, and a second metal fitting 12. Herein, the first metal fitting 10 interconnects upper ends of the legs 9a, 9b, 9c together. One ends of the stays 11a, 11b, 11c are interconnected with intermediate portions of the legs 9a, 9b, 9c. Another ends of the stays 11a, 11b, 11c are interconnected together by the second metal fitting 12. The first and second metal fittings 10, 12 are respectively fixed to selected positions of the stand member 3 by means of bolts. In order to transport and store the hi-hat stand 1 in some place, a human operator releases bolts of the first metal fitting 10 so that the first metal fitting 10 is moved upwardly along the stand member 3 and the stand leg unit 2 is folded together with the stand member 3.
The spring device 5 is constructed by a pipe 13 and a return spring (not shown). The pipe 13 is fixed to an outer periphery of the lower portion of the stand member 3, and the return spring is built in the pipe 13 to bring upward restoration properties in movements of the operation rod 4 and the pedal device 6. That is, the return spring presses upwardly the operation rod 4 and a pedal 16 of the pedal device 6.
The pedal device 6 is constructed by a pedal frame 14, a heel 15 and the pedal 16 as well as an interconnection member 17 and a transmission member 18. The pedal frame 14, which is placed on a floor, has an L-shape in side view and is attached to a lower end of the stand member 3. The pedal is equipped with the heel 15 at a back-end portion thereof, which is close to a performer. The interconnection member 17 is attached to the heel 15 and is detachably interconnected with the pedal frame 14. A front-end portion of the pedal 16, which is close to the stand member 3, is interconnected with the lower end of the operation rod 4 by means of the transmission member 18 such as a belt. In musical performance, a performer (or player) depresses the pedal 16 by his/her foot to pull down the operation rod 4 against upward spring force of the spring device 5, so that the upper moving cymbal 8 strikes the lower fixed cymbal 7. The interconnection member 17 is formed in a U-shape in plan view by bending a metal rod. In addition, end portions of the U-shaped interconnection member 17 are bent rectangularly in side directions to form hook portions. So, a bent portion (or an intermediate portion of the U-shape) of the interconnection member 17 is fixed to a lower surface of the heel 15, while the hook portions are detachably inserted into stop holes, which are formed at lower ends of the pedal frame 14. Using the U-shaped interconnection member 17, it is possible to secure a constant relative distance between the pedal frame 14 and the heel 15. This allows depression of the pedal 16 in a stable manner.
It is demanded that the hi-hat stand 1 can be transported and set for musical performance with ease. In addition, it is demanded that the hi-hat stand 1 can be stored in a small space. To meet the aforementioned demands, the hi-hat stand 1 is constructed such that the stand leg unit 2 is foldable. In addition, it is constructed such that the lower fixed cymbal 7 and the pedal frame 14 are detachably attached to the stand member 3, while the upper moving cymbal 8 is detachably attached to the operation rod 4. The pedal 16 is interconnected with the operation rod 4 by the transmission member 18, so it cannot be separated from the stand member 3 with ease. However, it can be separated from the pedal frame 14 by disconnecting the interconnection member 17 from the pedal frame 14.
The conventional hi-hat stand 1 lacks a fixing structure for fixing the pedal 16 to the stand member 3 although the pedal 16 can be separated from the pedal frame 14 by disconnecting the interconnection member 17 form the pedal frame 14. So, a human operator suffers from disadvantages in transportation of the stand member 3, as follows:
(1) When the human operator carries the stand member 3 being held horizontally while placing the pedal in a lower side, the pedal 16 hangs down so that it may rotate or move around in forward and backward directions as well as left and right directions. This is troublesome for the human operator to transport the hi-hat stand 1.
(2) When the human operator carries the stand member 3 on which the pedal 16 is put, it is difficult for the human operator to hold the stand member 3 by one hand. For this reason, the human operator must use both of his/her hands to hold the stand member 3 and the pedal 16 together. This causes a difficulty in transporting the hi-hat stand 1.
In addition, the conventional hi-hat stand lacks a holding structure for holding the interconnection member 17 together with the pedal 16 or stand member 3. So, if the human operator transports the hi-hat stand 1 in a condition where the pedal 16 hangs down from the stand member 3, the pedal 16 rotates or moves together with the stand member 3 being transported. In that case, there is a probability in that the pedal 16 which moves unintentionally is caught in or brought into contact with other musical instruments, objects and structures, for example. So, the human operator must pay a great attention to transportation of the hi-hat stand very carefully.
It is an object of the invention to provide a musical instrument stand which is improved in transportability. That is, the musical instrument stand is well designed to avoid unintentional movements of a pedal or interconnection member in transportation. In addition, it is designed to allow easy transportation using one hand of a human operator to completely hold the hi-hat stand.
A musical instrument stand of this invention is basically constructed by a pair of cymbals, a stand member, a foldable tripod containing three legs, a pedal device containing a pedal and a heel, a pedal frame, an operation rod, a return spring and an interconnection member. Herein, the return spring applies resilience to the operation rod, a lower end of which is being normally pressed upwardly together with a front end of the pedal by means of a transmission member. The interconnection member is formed in a U-shape, in which a bent portion is fixed to the heel of the pedal while ends are detachably attached to the pedal frame.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the stand member installs a pedal holding member that holds the pedal which is lifted upwardly by disconnecting the ends of the interconnection member from the pedal frame. In transportation of the musical instrument stand, the pedal does not hang down from the stand member. So, it is possible to prevent the pedal from rotating and moving around.
According to a second aspect of the invention, holders are attached to a back surface of the pedal to hold straight portions of the interconnection member. In transportation of the musical instrument stand, it is possible to prevent the interconnection member from being caught or brought in contact with other musical instruments, objects and structures.
Thanks to the provision of the pedal holding member and the holders for holding the interconnection member, the musical instrument stand can be folded in a compact manner, which improves portability in handling the musical instrument stand, so the human operator is capable of holding the musical instrument stand by one hand. Thus, it is possible to improve transportability of the musical instrument stand.